Civil Rights Facts

Many people that are involved in litigation arising from a civil rights claim eventually face financial hardships. Some cases take many years to resolve, and the associated stresses may negatively affect a litigant’s livelihood and health. This is where our services at Lawsuit Hotline can help.

Civil rights law goes beyond racial discrimination. Inappropriate gathering of personal information is often the basis for a claim. Police brutality is also a common issue. Claims may be made against individuals or organizations, such as a government. Help from an experienced attorney is highly advised in order to pursue a civil rights claim.

Not all complaints, even if valid, will result in money damages. There is a “one free bite” rule for new and creative claims. This means that the plaintiff must prove that what happened to him or her has been previously established as a civil rights violation. If your claim involves an “old-fashioned” violation, someone else established the precedent for you. However, if your case is the new and creative spin, the “one free bite” may be out of you.

Experience

Do you remember Joe the Plumber?

Media attention surrounding Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher’s exchange with then-Senator Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign hit media headlines for days. The moniker resurfaced in March 2009 when lawyers for Judicial Watch, a public interest group, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of Wurzelbacher against three top members of the Ohio Job and Family Services office. (1)

The crux of the complaint wasn’t the initial conversation between “Joe” and Obama. The lawsuit concerned action taken by three high-ranking officials in the OJFS office to “dig up” information on Wurzelbacher using specialized state government databases. The civil rights complaint alleged that querying the databases without a legitimate unemployment or social services reason violated Wurzelbacher’s rights.

Read the article on “Joe the Plumber” and Civil Rights

This civil rights complaint didn’t concern discrimination based on any protected category. It centered on gathering information on an individual, from non-public sources, for purposes of retaliation.

Police brutality claims usually originate with a person who perceives themselves as a victim. Occasionally, a report is generated by a bystander, as detailed by reporter Nick Bertram in a December 2009 article for OregonLive.com. Bertram describes a mental image that has stayed with him more than six years — the image of an officer’s punch and kick to a downed suspect after a foot chase under the Steel Bridge in Portland, OR.

Read the article on Police Brutality and Civil Rights

Action

Lawsuit Hotline specializes in the funding of settled and pre-settled civil rights lawsuits. During the funding process, Lawsuit Hotline requests some of the case documentation, underwriting evaluates the lawsuit to determine whether funding can be extended, and if approved, a contract is issued for the injured party and his/her attorney to sign. The injured party’s attorney then repays the lien when the case is resolved. All funding is non recourse, which means that if for any reason, there is no recovery on the case, then no money is owed back.